Doug Franz College Football Playoff - Week 2

Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron (10) throws to a receiver before an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

The week 2 standings are out for the BCS.

In case you don't know from the things I've said on air. I hate the BCS but I don't have a problem with the BCS formula. I just don't want it used to narrow the field from 124 to 2.

Although I'm thrilled we will have a 4-team playoff soon. I've always wanted a 16-team playoff. I'm not being greedy because the new system will be so much better than the BCS. I just want to implement some of the greatness of March Madness while rewarding conference champions.

I put before you the Doug Franz College Football Playoff. It is the only playoff system that actually makes every non-conference game vital to each conference because it could determine if your champion is in the playoff. It improves on the basketball tournament because teams don't get in the playoff just by winning their conference. They have to win in one of the better conferences.

Every week the BCS rankings will change, therefore changing the teams making the playoff. Check in each week and see how things have changed. At the end of the season, it's up to you to pick the winners of each game and set in motion the championship challenge.

If you want an explanation for the way my formula works, check the bottom of the blog.

South Carolina had two home games just two weeks ago, now they're out of the DFCFP.

The SEC has five teams in the DFCFP. No other conference has more than 3.

Granted LSU and Mississippi State played in the conference regular season but being forced to do it again is cool considering the passion of the fans.

You think Oklahoma at Alabama would be a good second round game?

Yes, I'm excited my Bobcats are in, but even as a Top 25 team they barely made it.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN:

By ranking every team 1-124, you get a true representation of the best conference by taking the average BCS rank of every team in the conference. This playoff system makes every college football game in the country vital because it rewards teams and conferences alike.

Here's the ranking of the conferences after week 1 of the BCS and the average BCS rank of the teams in the conference.

1) Big 12: 32.9

2) SEC: 37

3) Pac-12: 46.67

4) Big 10: 48.08

5) Big East: 60.13

6) ACC: 60.75

7) WAC: 79.43

8) MAC: 79.77

9) MWC: 81.4

10) Sun Belt: 82.5

11) C-USA: 89

CONFERENCE OBSERVATIONS:

The money line is being one of the top eight conferences (explanation below). The pressure on every team in conferences 7-10 is intense because every game could determine if your conference champion gets in the playoff.

Huge win for the MAC when Toledo knocked off a Top 25 Cincinnate team. Without it, Buffalo's loss to Pittsburgh would have pushed the Mountain West past the MAC. The amount of money lost would have been crushing. If the DFCFP was real, conference love would be enormous because a Toledo loss would cost the MAC the playoff berth.

Despite the fact Ohio is ranked a very comfortable 24 in the BCS (for our purposes they're #25 because Ohio State must be ranked to appropriately rank the Big Ten), they're barely in the playoff because the MAC's rank is dragged down by #112 Eastern Michigan, #118 Akron and the worst team in football #124 UMass.

Is Kansas slightly over-matched? The Big 12 is impressive at #1 but it could be so much more. The 9th-best team in the conference is Baylor at #51. The conference falls off a cliff to get to its tenth team as KU is #102. If it wasn't for KU, the average Big 12 team would be in the Top 25.

This weekend is the height of pressure for one conference. The MAC is barely hanging on to their bid and they have to show up for Ball State at Army, Kent State at Rutgers and UMass at Vandy.

The Notre Dame at Oklahoma game is huge. The winner is still alive for a wild card (Oklahoma needs K-State to lose two games to have a chance at the conference championship). The loser might drop below #12 in the BCS. If that happens, South Carolina would replace them in the playoff.

PLAYOFF EXPLANATION:

The magic of the DFCFP is how it highlights the regular season more than any other system. Here's the process for coming up with the teams for the playoff.

1) Rank all D-1 (FBS) teams 1-124 (from Alabama to UMass)

2) Rank all the conferences 1-11 based on the average BCS rank of the teams in the conference.

3) Reward the first place team in the top 8 conferences with an automatic bid.

6) Rank the 16 teams based on BCS rank with no regard to status as an automatic qualifier or wild-card entry. The tournament would follow a bracket format. Although re-seeding would be a better way to reward the regular season, nothing is better than filling out a basketball bracket and I want that momentum and attention on college football.

7) First two rounds are at the home of the better seed.

8) Final Four and Championship game are played at a rotation among Fiesta, Cotton, Sugar, Rose.

I'm aware that after the first two rounds there are three games left at neutral sites with four bowl game hosts. This is leverage in case the Rose wants to stick to tradition. If they duck out I've got three games and three bowls. If the Rose does want to stay involved, there would be a new bowl game created for the two teams that just missed out on the playoff. This week would be South Carolina versus Texas Tech.

I give you the extra bowl game just to prove that the bowls don't have to die. South Carolina versus Texas Tech is still a great college football game with great fans. All these years of morbid seasons for Texas Tech means their fans would pack this new major bowl.

We wouldn't have 35 bowl games anymore—sorry Pinstripe Bowl—but some of the big ones with tradition don't have to go anywhere. If you're an ASU fan are you saying you wouldn't go watch the Devils against Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl just because it wasn't in the playoff? You'd still get the benefit of extra practices to prepare for your bowl game. Players would still get to enjoy the goodies they receive for participating. As for the fans, we get a real champion.

Feel free to ask me any questions or give me your opinions and I'll put it in the mailbag: doug@ktar.com